Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Psychologist who allegedly faked robbery, rape fired from state prison system

A psychologist suspected of faking being sexually assaulted and robbed and falsely reporting the crimes to Sacramento police has been fired from the prison system, according to a spokeswoman.

Laurie Ann Martinez's last day with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was Dec. 22, spokeswoman Terry Thornton said Wednesday.

Thornton said she could not discuss the reasons for the termination because of personnel policy.

Martinez's termination came within a week of an announcement by the California Board of Psychology that her license was suspended in the wake of The Bee's report that she had been arrested and charged with felony criminal conspiracy in connection with an alleged false police report.

According to court documents from Sacramento police and the District Attorney's Office, Martinez, 36, with the help of friend Nicole Snyder, staged a sexual assault and robbery and then dialed 911 in April.

After police began an investigation, a co-worker of Martinez's came forward to say she had talked openly about faking such a crime to persuade her husband to move from their Northgate home to what she thought was a safer neighborhood. Snyder, 33, faces the same charges in the case.

She and Martinez allegedly admitted the scheme after police questioned them about the co-worker's allegations, according to the court documents.

Martinez was a supervising senior psychologist at California State Prison, Sacramento, before her termination.

When allegations of the fake report came to light in May, CDCR officials transferred her to headquarters, where they said she did not have contact with inmates.